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NGO’s and Zoo Combine Forces to Return Taiping 4 Gorillas to Cameroon

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Cape Town, South Africa

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW - www.ifaw.org) and the National Zoological
Gardens of South Africa (NZG of SA) have announced that the Taiping 4 gorillas
are to be returned to Cameroon in early December.

IFAW and the National Zoo met in Pretoria last week and agreed to collaborate
on all levels to return the gorillas to the Cameroon. A working date of 7
December 2006 has been set.

The decision ends months of speculation regarding the possibility of the
gorillas being sent to the Cameroon.

“IFAW is absolutely delighted by this turn of events which signals a happy
outcome to the saga of Izan, Abbey, Tinu and Oyin, the four young gorillas –
three females and a male – who have captured the imaginations of animal lovers
worldwide for nearly three years,” said Christina Pretorius, Communications
Manager for IFAW Southern Africa.

“IFAW and the National Zoo will be working together to ensure the safe
transfer of the so-called Taiping 4 to
the Cameroon,” she said. Last week’s meeting was also attended by the Pandrillus
Foundation which manages the Limbe Wildlife Centre in Douala, Cameroon, to where
the gorillas will be transferred.

The Executive Director of the NZG of SA, Willie Labuschagne, says although
the National Zoo and the people of South Africa are sad to see the animals
leave, the Zoo will do everything within its power to facilitate the safe
transfer of the gorillas to the Cameroon. “The wellbeing of the four gorillas is
of paramount importance to us,” he said.

Independent DNA sampling commissioned by the NZG of SA confirmed that the
Cameroon was the most likely place of origin of these gorillas. The government
of the Cameroon began a series of formal requests for the gorillas’ return in
2002 and Malaysia informed the South African officials of the decision to
transfer the gorillas in July 2006.

Keepers from both Limbe and the NZG of SA will spend time at the respective
institutions prior to and after the transfer of the gorillas to ensure the
smooth transition of the animals to their new home.

IFAW earlier agreed to fund the return of the four Western lowland gorillas.
The organisation is one of a number of groups including the Born Free
Foundation, the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), the International
Primates Protection League (IPPL), and the Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA)
that have lobbied consistently to have the gorillas returned to the
Cameroon.

The four gorillas, popularly known as the “Taiping Four” made international
headlines when they were found to be have been illegally imported from Nigeria
to Malaysia. On their arrival in Malaysia it was found that their import
documents were falsified and consequently the management authority of CITES
(Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species) in Malaysia
confiscated the four animals.

In compliance with the CITES code of conduct regarding confiscated animals,
the relevant government has to source suitable accommodation for the animals in
question. In response to this, the NZG of SA offered to house the “Taiping Four”
on a permanent basis. The Malaysian authorities were satisfied with the
conditions set out in the application of the NZG of SA and the four infants
arrived in the country on 14 April 2004.

“IFAW, with the National Zoo, is pleased to be part of a team of dedicated
professionals who will be working together in the coming weeks and focusing on
the best interests and the welfare of the gorillas as we get ready to
translocate them to the Cameroon,” said Pretorius.